I tried out my Jamila Henna Friday night. If I didn't know any better, I would swear that there is more than 100g in each of those packages lol. I mixed 200g (2 boxes) and it seemed like waaaay too much. I almost feel like what I had left over and stored in the freezer is 100g mix. Idk.....
But anywho, I love love love my results :) The color is more noticeable indoors....at least in my bathroom; when I hold up my table mirror to look into the bathroom cabinet mirror, I feel like I'm looking at two different people lol. The red color is sooo pretty. I can't wait for people to notice it in the sunlight. But then again, it might look very different the next time I'm around people. Henna coloring oxidizes over a few days after the initial application so Idk what my hair will look like tomorrow, and the next day, etc.
For all my 4a/b ladies out there, henna at your own risk if you have not yet fully come to terms with caring for extremely kinky coils. If you have a thick head of hair, henna will not make it change textures (i.e jumping from 4b to 4a or 4b to 3b, etc). It DOES increase thickness...at least from my experiences and others that I have read on natural hair forums. Although still thick, it doesn't kill me when I try to comb through on dry hair (at least yesterday and today that wasnt the case lol). I guess you would only be able to know what I'm talking about if you've hennaed more than twice and know the feeling of thick and kinky but still comb-able (is that a word?? lol)
My only problem is that with this increased thickness I haven't got the slightest clue as to what to do with this mane of mine now. I think I am going to twist again b/c wash-n-go pony's are a pain for me to do. Always have been. Besides....I wanna be cute for my fireworks venture tomorrow and whatever else comes up this week.
Happy Hennaing and Styling!!
Oh yes, and Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there :)
My Henna Mix:
200g Jamila Henna Summer Crop 09 (from Butters N Bars)
Lemon juice (estimated 1/3)
Orange Juice (estimated 2/3)
I just dumped the powder into a medium sized plastic bowl and added the last potion of lemon juice that was left; it was a very small fraction of the bottle I used last time (see older henna post....I cant remember at the moment the bottle size). I used that corner of lemon juice and made up for the rest of the moisture for the mix by using orange juice. I didn't use official measurements; I just kept ading until everything was moist and made sure to mix between add-ins. When I was done mixing it had the consistency of mashed potatoes or really thick lumpy oatmeal. I let my mix sit for almost 19-20 hours because my schedule changed that Friday; I didn't get home until maybe 6pm so thats when I washed my hair and then applied my henna.
My mix was obviously darker than the night before (indicator of dye release) and still as lumpy as ever....maybe even a little more. I applied a tiny bit more orange juice to make it less lumpy and proceeded to wash. Some naturals clarify with a clarifying shampoo of some sort or skip actual shampoo and just co-wash or something. Since I have sebhorreic dermatitis I have to wash with T-Gel shampoo---might as well be a clarifyer, its that cleansing lol. After I washed, I conditioned (dont remember if I did that during my last two henna sessions, but I felt it was necessary this time b/c T-Gel shampoo makes my hair feel weird and dry-like afterwards. I was scared the henna directly after shampooing would do horrendous things to my hair i.e fall out or break off ) with a couple of Suave Naturals conditioners that I've had for a while but never finished using (making good use of my (and my mom's...RIP honey) product junkyism lol). I believe it was the Sea Breeze one with algae and vitamin E and the Mango Peach. After rinsing my condish, I sectioned my hair off and went to work.
Applying henna is tiring as heck, especially when its late at night. I will NEVA do that again, unless I plan on sleeping in that ish. Wheeew! I was done applying by 7:30 but given the day I had, I was tired. I didnt even want to let it sit in my hair for 4 hours but I did it anyway to see the color deposit (although thats not why I henna...its just a fun bonus lol).
And presto! Henna session number 3 for me:
Obvious auburn/red tint in certain lighting.